New San Francisco Businesses

New businesses continue to move to San Francisco. In 2007, over 40 major businesses relocated or announced their intentions to relocate to San Francisco (up from 28 in 2006), absorbing nearly 5,000,000 square feet of office space. A few highlights from 2007:

• Suntech America, the U.S. subsidiary of Wuxi, China-based Suntech Power Holdings Co. chose San Francisco for its North American headquarters, a move that could bring hundreds of jobs and solidify the City's place at the forefront of clean energy.

• Cisco recently leased 16,000 sq.ft. in China Basin Landing, marking the San Jose-based company’s first San Francisco presence.

• New York-based web company About.com, which produces online guides on over 600 topics, will move into 505 Sansome St.

• MySpace, the social networking site owned by News Corp., opened an office in San Francisco in early October and reportedly plans to hire as many as 200 employees at its new SoMa office.

• The Wikimedia Foundation, which puts out the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia, announced plans to move its headquarters from Florida to San Francisco early next year, bringing 6 employees. San Francisco beat out London, New York, and Washington for the new HQ, due to the City being the “epicenter of high-tech in the US, with a rich array of resources, including top talent, universities, support services and major media,” according to the company.

• Macys.com, the online division of Macy’s, has leased 56,500 sq.ft. at 685 Market, and will expand its local workforce from 150 to 300. Macys.com’s main West Coast shipping point will be a new 600,000 sq.ft. distribution center in Arizona, set for completion by mid-2008.

• Frog Design, a creative services consultancy focusing on the tech sector, signed a deal for 30,000 sq.ft. at 660 3rd Street in SoMa, consolidating its Palo Alto and San Francisco offices.

• Sapient, the Cambridge, Mass.-based technology consulting firm is back in San Francisco, opening an office at the edge of North Beach to eventually accommodate a staff of 45.

• Google will bring up to 800 employees to San Francisco when it occupies 210,000 square feet in Hills Plaza later this year. The internet giant inked the largest lease deal so far of 2007 in April when it subleased vacant space from the Gap.

• Osprey Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biotechnology company focused on treating chronic diseases, is moving its business operations, including its CEO and CFO to from Montreal to San Francisco. The move was motivated by the desire to tap into the strong biotech environment and deep talent pool in the area, according to the San Francisco Business Times.